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Chandigarh administrator to take final call on new water tariff
The Chandigarh administration on May 24, 2021, had stayed the up to 200% hike in water tariff till March 31, 2022
Even as the UT administration has decided to increase the water tariff rates in the upcoming fiscal, the hike may not be as high as 200%, as notified in 2020 and later revoked.
Following large-scale protests against UT’s decision to increase water tariff by up to 200% in September 2020, the municipal corporation (MC) House had passed a resolution in October 2020, asking the administration to withdraw its notification and stick to the existing rates till the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
Thereafter, the administration on May 24, 2021, had stayed the hike till March 31, 2022.
UT adviser Dharam Pal, who had a meeting with different political parties on the issue here on Monday, said, “We have taken the views of the political parties on the issue. We will submit these and other factors like MC’s financial viability before the UT administrator. He will take the final call on the new tariff.”
The water rates were last revised in 2011. The proposal for further hike was first mooted in 2014 and then again in 2018 and 2019. But was always called off in the face of opposition. UT had finally notified the revised tariff in September 2020, before revoking at again.
Chandigarh AAP president Prem Garg said the BJP mayor, on the one hand had assured the MC House that the BJP will not allow a water tariff hike, on the other hand, in the meeting with the adviser, the mayor spoke in unison with the administration, and wanted the AAP and Congress to accept the revision of tariffs.
Congress president Subhash Chawla said, “The BJP has made a U-turn on its election promise of no increase in the water tariff. Now, they are following the administration’s dictum. They are also not ready to bring the agenda before the House. We will oppose it.”
Mayor Sarabjit Kaur said the administration had assured that the hike will not be as high as 200%, yet the AAP and Congress were opposing it: “The AAP should tell the public how it is possible to give free water and who will pay the maintenance annual expenses?”
The AAP has maintained that the gap between expenditure and income from water bills should be bridged by fixing leakages.
